What Liberty does

Liberty (legally The National Council for Civil Liberties) is a UK-registered, independent non-profit membership organisation founded in 1934 in response to the police suppression of Hunger March protests. Headquartered in Westminster, London, with an 11-50 staff headcount, Liberty operates across three integrated functions: strategic litigation (landmark test cases on surveillance, protest rights, discrimination, and policing), policy and parliamentary work (briefings, consultation responses, and expert testimony), and public campaigning (petitions, MP outreach, mass mobilisation). It serves UK residents seeking human rights information, individuals whose rights have been violated by public authorities, and grassroots organisations engaged in civil liberties advocacy, and provides free legal information rather than casework or representation.

Liberty's service portfolio comprises free human rights legal advice and information, strategic litigation, campaigning and advocacy, policy and parliamentary engagement, and the editorially independent investigative journalism unit 'Liberty Investigates'. Its technology footprint is modest: a WordPress-based website (libertyhumanrights.org.uk) with self-hosted Matomo analytics chosen specifically to avoid third-party advertising tracking, and integrations with petition/donation platforms (JustGiving, CrowdJustice, Charities Aid Foundation). The organisation is structured as a non-profit company running in parallel with the Civil Liberties Trust, a registered charity that provides grant funding for the charitable portion of Liberty's work.

Revenue is generated through a diversified non-profit model: monthly membership subscriptions from £2.50, one-time and recurring public donations (including payroll giving via CAF Give As You Earn), legacy gifts and bequests (with a free wills service), and grant funding from the Civil Liberties Trust, which has disclosed income of approximately £2.5 million per year. Liberty supplements its in-house team with elite external counsel (Matrix Law, Doughty Street Chambers) and operates within an international coalition through INCLO and domestic co-litigation partnerships with Privacy International, Amnesty International UK, and grassroots groups such as Black Equity Organisation, JENGbA, Streets Kitchen, and Friends, Families and Travellers.

Name

Liberty

Legal name

The National Council for Civil Liberties

Website

https://libertyhumanrights.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1934

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Liberty (The National Council for Civil Liberties) is a UK-based, independent membership non-profit founded in 1934 that challenges injustice through strategic litigation, policy work, public campaigning, free legal advice, and investigative journalism for UK residents and civil society.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Rights Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil Liberties & Constitutional Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB), Digital Rights, Privacy & Free Expression Advocacy (BPAGAFAL), Media Freedom, Access to Information & Digital Rights (BPADAGAE)

Keywords

• Civil liberties advocacy
• Human rights litigation
• Legal advice services
• Policy campaigning
• Membership organization

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Liberty operates as a membership organisation. People can become members for as little as £2.50 per month. Members receive updates, can vote at the AGM, and participate in the annual members' conference.
2. Donations: Liberty accepts one-time and recurring donations from the public. Donations can be made directly or through payroll giving providers like Charities Aid Foundation Give As You Earn, and fundraising platforms like JustGiving and CrowdJustice.
3. Legacies and bequests: Liberty encourages supporters to leave gifts in their wills. They offer a free wills service in partnership with Free Wills. Legacies can be left to Liberty directly or to the Civil Liberties Trust.
4. Civil Liberties Trust funding: The Civil Liberties Trust is a registered charity that works in parallel with Liberty and provides funding for charitable parts of Liberty's work. Gifts to the Civil Liberties Trust are exempt from Inheritance Tax.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Liberty is an independent membership organisation that challenges injustice, defends freedom, and campaigns to make sure everyone in the UK is treated fairly. It provides free legal advice and information, runs strategic litigation challenging unjust laws and policies, conducts policy and parliamentary work, and operates the editorially independent Liberty Investigates journalism unit. Founded in 1934, it combines the work of campaigners, lawyers, and policy experts to protect rights and hold power to account.

Product overview

Liberty (The National Council for Civil Liberties) is a membership-based human rights organization founded in 1934, not a technology product company. The organization offers a portfolio of advocacy services including: free human rights legal advice and information covering rights regarding police, surveillance, protest, and discrimination; campaigning and advocacy through petitions, MP outreach, and public mobilization on issues like facial recognition, digital ID, and police AI; strategic litigation taking landmark legal cases challenging surveillance powers, protest restrictions, and counter-terror legislation; policy and parliamentary work including briefings and consultation responses; Liberty Investigates, an editorially independent investigative journalism unit; and a membership program allowing democratic participation in governance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Liberty Investigates: An editorially independent investigative journalism unit based within Liberty that publishes stories to reveal human rights abuses, expose wrongdoers, and empower people to create positive change.

Products and services

• Human Rights Legal Advice and Information Free legal information and advice services covering rights, police interactions, surveillance, protest, equality, immigration, and other human rights issues in the UK, available to UK residents.
• Strategic Litigation Landmark legal cases challenging unjust laws, policies and practices including challenges to surveillance powers, protest restrictions, discrimination, and counter-terror legislation in UK courts.
• Campaigning and Advocacy Campaign actions including petitions, MP outreach, and public mobilization on issues including facial recognition, digital ID, the European Convention on Human Rights, and police AI.
• Policy and Parliamentary Work Policy analysis, parliamentary briefings, government consultation responses, and expert testimony to influence human rights legislation and policy in the UK.
• Liberty Investigates Editorially independent investigative journalism unit undertaking investigations on policing, counter-terrorism, surveillance, disability rights, and other human rights topics, published in partnership with major media outlets.
• Membership Program Democratic membership organization allowing supporters to participate in governance, vote at AGMs, and support human rights campaigns through monthly contributions starting at £2.50.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2,000 arrests through LFR operations since 2024 (cited by Met Police, against Liberty's position)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• Civil Liberties TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Civil Liberties Trust is a registered charity (no. 1024948) that works in parallel with Liberty. It funds the charitable parts of Liberty's work including research, policy, litigation, education, and advice. Gifts to CLT are exempt from Inheritance Tax. CLT has income of around £2.5m per year.
• INCLO (International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLiberty is a member of INCLO, an international network of civil liberties organisations from multiple countries including Canada, United States, Argentina, Ireland, Hungary, Russia, Israel, Egypt, India, Kenya, and South Africa. This provides cross-border collaboration and shared learning on human rights issues.
• Privacy InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrivacy International is a co-litigant in challenges to the Investigatory Powers Act (Snooper's Charter). Together with Liberty, they challenged the Government's Technical Capability Notice against Apple regarding iCloud encryption. They are active partners in surveillance and privacy cases.
• Amnesty International UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmnesty International UK co-intervened with Liberty in the Palestine Action proscription case at both the High Court and Court of Appeal. They share legal submissions and collaborate on counter-terrorism and human rights issues.
• Matrix LawsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMatrix Law provides barristers including Raj Desai and Aidan Wills who have been instructed as counsel in Liberty's cases including Black Equity Organisation v MOPAC, Joint Enterprise cases, and the Gangs Violence Matrix challenge.
• Doughty Street ChamberssupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDoughty Street Chambers provided Adam Straw KC and Tayyiba Bajwa as counsel in Liberty's case against the Met's Gangs Violence Matrix.
• Grassroots organisations and campaign groupsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLiberty works with diverse grassroots organisations and people with first-hand experience of the issues they campaign on, including Streets Kitchen (homeless rights), Friends Families and Travellers, Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association (JENGbA), and Black Equity Organisation.
• Streets KitchenmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrassroots organisation supporting homeless people. Partnered with Liberty on the Anthony Sinclair case challenging police dispersal orders against homeless individuals outside a London hospital.
• Friends, Families and TravellersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnti-racism charity focused on Gypsy and Traveller rights. Acted as intervener alongside Liberty in the Wendy Smith case challenging Police Act provisions targeting nomadic communities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Statewatch: UK/EU civil liberties monitoring organisation focused on state surveillance, policing, and migration controls. Directly comparable on surveillance-policy research and EU/UK data, though narrower than Liberty on litigation and campaigns.
• British Institute of Human Rights: UK organisation promoting the Human Rights Act and supporting practitioners and parliamentarians. Comparable mission and audience (parliamentarians and decision-makers) but a smaller, more training-focused footprint.
• Howard League for Penal Reform: UK charity working on criminal-justice and prisoner rights, including intervention in policing and sentencing cases. Adjacent in mission and litigation model, with overlapping legal chambers.
• INQUEST: UK charity providing expertise on state-related deaths and inquests. Comparable in strategic-litigation approach and policy-influence model on policing and state accountability.

Broad incumbents

• Human Rights Watch: Large international human rights organisation with broader geographic remit. Comparable in advocacy, litigation, and investigative-reporting model, and part of the same INCLO network as Liberty.
• ARTICLE 19: International organisation focused on freedom of expression and information. Directly comparable on digital rights, surveillance, and protest-rights advocacy, and INCLO network co-member.

Direct peers

• Privacy International: UK-registered charity focused on surveillance and data rights. Privacy International is a recurring co-litigant with Liberty on Investigatory Powers Act cases and the Apple Technical Capability Notice challenge, with overlapping donor base and legal partners.
• Index on Censorship: UK-based freedom-of-expression organisation. Overlapping campaign focus on protest rights, counter-terror impacts on speech, and digital-ID opposition makes it a natural peer for Liberty.
• Amnesty International UK: UK affiliate of the global human rights NGO. Amnesty UK and Liberty co-intervene in major UK human rights cases (e.g., Palestine Action proscription) and run overlapping campaigns on counter-terror, protest, and discrimination, making them the closest direct peer in mission and constituency.
• JUSTICE: UK law-and-rights think tank and legal charity that intervenes in cases and runs campaigns on rule-of-law issues. Highly comparable in legal-strategy focus and Westminster policy engagement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/libertyhq
• Facebookfacebook.com/libertyhq
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/liberty-national-council-for-civil-liberties-
• Instagraminstagram.com/libertyhq
• TikToktiktok.com/@libertyhq

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Liberty